PABLO, MONTANA 59855 ISSN: 0528-8592
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 NEW MOON OF THE BITTERROOT MAY 15,1980
WATER & POWER COMMITTEE MEETS District Meetings To Follow
The month of May must have hosted a blue moon because the seldom-gathered Tribal Water and Power committee met for the first time in two years or more.
The "blue moon session" was called for Thursday, May 1st to discuss the Northern Tier Pipeline Company's (NT-PC) recent proposal to route a crude oil pipeline through the southern half of the Flathead Reservation. Eight Coun-cilmen and perhaps twice that many concerned Tribal members were in attendance (Joe McDonald, Ronan, and Sonny Morigeau, Dixon, were the two Council absentees).
The day's discussion predictably bounced back and forth between those who lean in favor of the pipeline and those who decidely do not want it. Among the first group were
DISTRICT MEETINGS FINALIZED
A series of full-Council district meetings has been scheduled in four reservation communities next week. The main topic of discussion will be the new proposed Tribal constitution; Ed Fogarty, a Tribal attorney from Washington, D.C. will be on hand to help with legal questions. A second major topic expecting debate will be the Northern Tier Company's pipeline proposal (see related story on this page). The schedule is:
MONDA Y, MA Y19, Arlee Community Center TUESDA Y, MA Y20, St. Ignatius Community Center WEDNESDA Y, MA Y21, Ronan/Pablo districts (location to be announced) THURSDA Y, MA Y22, Turtle Lake Community Center
• All Meetings Will Start at 7 in the Evening •
Poison's representative, E.W. "Bill" Morigeau, and one of Arlee's two councilmen, Johnny McClure, who expressed their confidence in the general beneficial aspects of the project: "up front" money from NTPC to thoroughly study the deal; a number of employment possibilities, however limited; and steady income for the Tribal "pot" for at least 20 years.
Opponents to these points were Tom "Bearhead" Swaney (St. Ignatius) and Laurence Kenmille (Elmo), who each cited a lack of technological information at this point in the game and shared a decided lack of confidence in assurances that leakage accidents needn't prove especially serious. Further, they said there would be limited benefits to individual Tribal members: any employment would be temporary at best, and per capita payments from the first-offered $10 million, as determined by NTPC's payment schedule, would only amount to around $80 a year (after the initial $1.2 million was received.)
Then there was the disputed matter of increased electrical rates in Montana for all the state's citizens to support the
pipeline's power needs. (Contin(Ja(j ofl ^ ,j
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Kyi-Yo Conference........................Page 5
Letters to the Editor......................Page 6
Health Corner...........................page 9
Around the Campfire....................Page 10
KHJCC Pow-wow Results...............Page 11
Minutes................................Page 14
Latest Enrollment Data..................Page 19